Chen Fang, Xinyang Central Hospital
Foreign object squinting is very common in life and work, but few people can handle it properly. Importantly, mishandling can have unacceptably serious consequences.
Clinically, many patients have had corneal ulcers, endophthalmitis, and even vision loss due to improper handling of foreign bodies .
How to properly deal with foreign body squinting?
Under normal circumstances, after squinting with a foreign body, remember to rinse with tap water, do not rub your eyes, seek medical attention at the nearest doctor, follow the doctor’s instructions for treatment, and use medication . You can easily deal with foreign body squinting and avoid serious adverse consequences.
Rinse with tap water
If harmful liquids or acid-base solid powders get into the eyes, the eyes should be washed with running tap water nearby to reduce the absorption of harmful substances.
When cleaning, gently turn the eyeball, turn the upper and lower eyelids, and seek medical attention immediately after cleaning for 10 to 15 minutes.
Do not rub your eyes
After squinting the eyes of a foreign body, the foreign body sensation and irritation symptoms may be severe.
Many people rub their eyes frequently and forcefully to relieve discomfort, especially children and the elderly. This approach is wrong.
The action of rubbing the eyes virtually puts a pressure on the foreign body on the surface of the eyeball, which will cause the foreign body to go deeper and deeper , enter the anterior chamber from the cornea, and eventually change from a small treatment to a major operation with high costs.
Moreover, the probability of intraocular infection will also increase, which may cause visual impairment, and even lead to the inability to keep the eyeball, which is not worth the loss.
Seek medical treatment nearby
In theory, any form of squinting caused by a foreign body for any reason should immediately seek medical attention .
Self-treatment at home, instilling eyedrops on any eye drops, or not going to see a doctor or delaying seeing a doctor considering that there is no special discomfort and no obvious decline in vision, may lead to secondary disasters, infections, visual impairment and other adverse consequences.
For patients with harmful liquid or acid-base solid powder into the eyes, the doctor should be informed as soon as possible when seeing a doctor, and the doctor will immediately flush the conjunctival sac to avoid delaying the treatment time.
Under normal circumstances, the doctor will briefly ask the medical history when visiting the doctor, and then perform a slit lamp examination of the eyes, and complete the orbital CT examination if necessary.
Depending on the nature of the foreign body, antibiotic eye drops may be given to flush the conjunctival sac, corneal foreign body removal under topical anesthesia, saline irrigation, subconjunctival local injection, etc.
Severe chemical burns, thermal burns, etc. require hospitalization, and long-term complications may occur to varying degrees, such as dry eye syndrome, blebular adhesions, corneal leukoplakia, corneal conjunctiva, traumatic cataract, vitreous hemorrhage, retinal detachment etc., may require multiple surgical treatment, but the prognosis is poor.
Treatment and medication as prescribed
After the patient with foreign body squinting sees a doctor, under normal circumstances, the doctor will give local eye drops, eye ointment, oral medication, etc. to continue treatment at home, and explain to avoid rubbing the eyes and water in the affected eye , pay attention to hygiene and rest, and regular eye drops.
After seeing a doctor, you must follow the doctor’s advice, cooperate with the treatment, regular eye drops, regular follow-up visits, and see a doctor at any time if you feel unwell.
Especially for children and elderly patients, family members must be informed of important information such as precautions, drug use, and follow-up time.
Children should be encouraged to build up their confidence in treatment. During the treatment process, pay attention to asking or observing the children’s vision, redness, tearing, photophobia, etc., and eye drops and oral drugs that have been used at the same time must be placed in a safe place , to avoid children’s misuse and ingestion causing poisoning.
For elderly patients who live alone, young family members should play a monitoring role, visit the door on time to check whether the medication is correct, ask whether the symptoms are relieved or aggravated, and take the patient to a doctor if any problem is found.